High Fidelity Cables?

I have an unopened bottle of Q45t sitting on my desk looking 4 a new home. It could be yours for $200 American money plus fees. Tom D

Ozzy

Thanks for the info, when i purchased the newer XLR interconnects from Rick he sent me a small bottle of the Q45 that had a similar but different label on it. I wonder if it is the pro stuff. Rick said it was a little different. I have not tried it yet still have a bottle of the Q 45 on hand. Will have to wipe it off the speaker cables and give the newer stuff a try.

68pete,

As I remember, according to Rick, it was a newer version that was to be used more commercially with other manufacturer equipment. He asked if I would like to try that instead of the Q 45.

Maybe that product never got developed further, I like it though.

ozzy

OZZY

What is the Pro formula? Is that a newer Q45t? Have not seen it out any where, where did you get it at?  What was the price?

I have 2 pairs of Ricks new cables in xlr and they crushed my Transparent Reference XL .Cleaner sounding more bass and more punch in the mid range.

hi @agisthos ,

Sorry but I can't give you the detail review between the Apparition and CT-1 UR:\he time when i give the CT-1 UR and get back the Apparition is almost 2 years so memory can't serve right, it's also extremely hard to compare Rick magnet to other product as it take sometime to magnetize the system and also sometime to take out so A/Bing not possible,the time I applied Q45T and attached CT-1 UR almost the same (1 week apart) , so here my thought :

1) The housing of Apparition is much lighter than the metal of CT-1 UR, despite alot bigger, the wire seem like the same coaxial

2) The Apparition 3D printed RCA much looser than the Pinlok of CT1-UR, but I found no trouble so far

3) Soundwise I think they are extremely  related with Apparition have more bass and mid bass presence, detail level the same, no change of sound signature, I think the Q45T have greater effect, but keep in mind that my system may not fully exloit the differents for above reason, it's just a fullranger (omega) sit in a 8 s.q.m room. almost other cables are Rick's invention though.

@tranchautuan

I would love to hear your thoughts on the new Apparition vs CT-1 UR (Ultimate Reference).

I currently use the UR. I previously had the CT-1, CT-1E and CT-1U. Then stopped at the UR and had them for almost 10 years now. I never went higher, so do not know how good the Helix and Double Helix were.

But Rick says the Apparition surpasses them all. And it’s light enough to hang free in the air now?

@tranchautuan 

So he's selling his wares in the Market Place. Many thanks.

@lowrider57 , I see it on Rick 's Agon item for sale

Where did you see Q45 for $250?

@tranchautuan 

I use the "newer" Pro formula which I have been told is newer over the Q45T, and NPS 1260. I just applied it to my new speaker cables.

I would describe the sound as more whole or rounded sounding. The music sounds more natural. I am impressed.

ozzy

Just notice Rick has discount Q45T for 250$ instead of 350$ per 5ml bottle now.

For my experience, this liquid will add more meat to the bone, music more filled in the room,... the more you apply it.  So this treatment will fit those desired the more beefy sound signature.

The downside is that I notice a slight loss in details, or just my mind playing with me when sound got fully filled, minor details  won't stand out like before.

Rick sent his RCA Apparition Pair but with red cable sleeve, they are much lighter and easy to arrange than the CT1 UR,

Out if the box it sound fantastic already, better than a well burn-in CT1, What I can describe is the cable add " realism" and "3D" to my already 3d Omega Alnico pair

The cable still need play time to breaking'in. 
I intend to apply the Q45T also but may be later. Weather in vietnam very humid so connector degrade quickly, so Q45T may be the cure  to the weekest chain

of the links.

tranchautuan

Rick has always treated me good. I am glad you got to deal with him one on one. What cable did you get?

@tranchautuan when you have an opportunity please write up a review of that new cable :-). I'm glad to hear there was a good ending to your story.

hi all,

Just some updated on my situations, but here the overall timeline:

1, around 09/2021 ,I've sent my cable to HFC for an upgrade, that time I contacted just thru HFC facebook website and later  HFC Casey thru email. not thru Rick directly

2. When I done my payment thru VISA then as a lot of you know, HFC went silent and I can't contact them , to this moment.

3. Seeing Rick recent activity thru this sub, I contacted him. Rick explain to me that the time he wasn't an employee of HFC (Magnetic innovations) anymore, although he's the main inventor of HFC before . So the event of HFC massive 60% discount and disappear is not related to him.

4. But still he sent me his latest cable as a gift, I don't have to pay anything but shipping fee. And for me. that such a kind hearted action. So I recommend to do business with him directly, not thru any company like the last time., That's is of course, your purse feel comfortable.

So, happy listening you guys

@agisthos and @68pete

Other than the fact he has apparently ripped off tranchautuan for several $thousand and is not making any timely attempts to pay him back he is just a peach of a fella.

This is of course assuming, as I am, that tranchautuan's claim is valid.

I know I will just steer away from any company this guy is affiliated with. To many stories and where there is smoke there is fire. 

Rick has always done well by me. His products are great and i will continue to do business with him when needed.

@raysmtb1 You are not ’well aware’ of anything. Virtual Dynamics was started in the late 90’s. He specifically closed it in 2010 to pursue the magnetic tech which had investor money and many patents behind it. He could have just continued VD until today to keep you happy but chose the more difficult/exciting path of new advances in signal technology.

But this required partners and with that the higher overheads - much higher than all the one man band cable companies that are just buying RCA connectors and wire from an industrial catalogue.

It lasted 10 years and yes it never worked out. But consider he was only a part owner of the company and perhaps it wasn't his decision to pull the plug.

But then to imply from that he is a serial business defaulter is totally unfair IMO. He has been in this industry for close to 25 years and after ONE time this happens out pop all these false claims about him.

@agisthos I am well aware of that but this guy is a chronic business starter/closer. He starts one and then closes it, he started the second one and then he closes it. This is his third shot at that I think. Most people keep just keep involving the original business through the years. This guy just locked the doors one day and nobody knows what’s up.

@raysmtb1 Every company develops new lines of products that they claim is better than the last. Why is it bad this time? You are just being irrational.

This is just amazing to me that this guy has a new cable and it’s always better than the last one. It’s just amazing. This guy should be locked up. He’s like a bird of prey he’s flying around in the sky again looking for some more food. I’m so disappointed.

@tranchautuan doesn't matter where you live he has to ship the cables outside his own Country anyways. Offer to pay ONLY for shipping charges until you can hear the new cable to see if it's worth spending more money. Otherwise do not send more money with this company. You've already been burned once don't let it happen again.

hi @agisthos ,

thanks for the advice, I still waiting for Rick's respond.
the cable I traded up to is a pair of UR-Double Helix Signature 3D for original price of 15.9k.but after a 60% discount it come to topup 2850 only.
Hopefully I can get his new product for a reasonable price ( audio cables retail prices tend to many times higher than their production and R&D cost).
For other people who lost their funds, don't know if they find a place to complain about it like facebook or agon. 

@rsf507

I don't know if it likely to happen, since i'm not in the US. Vietnam don't have any HFC distributor, not to mention Rick alone.

@tranchautuan I would tell you NOT to send any funds for his new cables but ask to have his new cable shipped to you for a demo. If after a week or two they seem better than what you have then you decide. Simple and both parties are winners

@tranchautuan I did check the facebook page and it seems there is two other people, one of which got their money back from VISA chargeback. So there is 2 people (including you) out of pocket. Not good at all, but this unfortunately can happen when a company abruptly closes. I realise its a huge amount of money.

The new Apparition cable is 5k USD and is apparently a new design above what you were expected to get when you sent in the CT-1 UR. He claims it would have been 10k if it was sold through HFC.

So if you can get a pair of this new Apparition for a small amount of money this would hopefully be fair. Keep us updated on what happens.

Hi @agisthos ,

I'm sure i'm not the only one, you could see HFC facebook page,

others may have quickly or lucky enough to get their money refunded, not me.

I still have the invoice from HFC, I contact with Casey from HFC at that time.

Sound-quality wise, I'm also still prefer Rick's inventions. Currently I still use his basic CT1 interconnect and speaker cables, and power cord from his fist company Virtual Dynamics. 

But the last and largest investment lost is too much on me.

This is the first actual case of someone claiming they are owed money from HFC’s abrupt shutdown, and it was for a cable upgrade. If its legit I am sure Rick will come good on this.

I too have the HFC CT-1 UR interconnects. I do not know how close they are in performance to the new Apparition or the HFC Helix cables, but they destroy every single competitor, like smash them to another planet. HFC is the only cable brand I came across that has a very distinct improvement vs the subtle improvement you normally get from cable upgrade.

I also have the CT-1 UR digital cable (its the exact same cable as the interconnects but with an orange band - the magnetic tech requires transmission lines to function). Periodically I try various digital cables and none come close.

thks @rsf507 

I'm also aware of it. Let's see how this become. Haven't got any further respond from Rick.

@tranchautuan I think you are getting the run around to be frank. From my understanding Rick was the owner of HFC and moved from the USA to Canada because of some sort of passport issues. Don't know all the circumstances but at this point I would NOT give Rick or this company any more money. Be careful and hope you can recoup some of your funds.

Hi @jetter ,

Just to clarify, my topup money is 2850usd and 100usd transport vietnam to us,and my original HFC UR CT-1 RCA interconnect I purchased used around 2000usd, 

so total it around 4950usd

I've contacted Rick.

He said was the company president, although he just an employee. The event that HFC have massive discount, collect the money and shutdown don't related to him as that time he wasn't in the US anymore due to visa issue.

Rick said he can't give me some thing for free, cuz he just starting on  his own, and offer a discount for his product. I replied I can only spare max of 500usd for his new product and still waiting for his further reply,

You guys please share if you have other infos. thanks you

@tranchautuan 

Just curious if you had a chance to talk with Schultz regarding the $3,000+ that you mentioned he owes you?

PT Barnum nailed it! Or was it Gene Wilder. 

It boggles my mind why people would still do business with this guy after so many have been burned! Don't care how good his cables are.

tranchautuan,

He frequently posts ads for his new products. That may be the fastest way to contact him.

Good Luck!

ozzy

@tranchautuan

@ozzy

I lost around 3k+ usd (topup money) and my original HFC Ultimate Reference RCA pair when I got a deal to send my cable to HFC for upgrade.

Happy some still raise it up

I hope that this Rick dude pays back tranchautuan, especially now that he has it in writing that he owes (taking tranchautuan word for it).

If not, sorry to say it like this, but if not I hope each and every one of you gets burned for the same amount of $s and then know what it’s like to walk a mile in his shoes and listen to you all crowing how great his products are.

tks ozzy , could i know the website of his new company so I can contact him

tranchautuan,

You should try to contact Rick with his new company, and he see if he will help you recoup. Heck, it’s worth a try.

ozzy

@ozzy 

I lost around 3k+ usd  (topup money) and my original HFC Ultimate Reference RCA pair when I got a deal to send my cable to HFC for upgrade.

Happy some still raise it up

lowrider57

These are the first of Ricks interconnect i have owned. Have a full loon of his power cords, plug ins, power conditioners loved what they did for my system. Have been pretty much a Transparent cable guy until now. the Transparent Reference XL  XLR is a very good interconnect. Both XLR cables where calibrated for their equipment,  they where plugged into by Transparent. Ricks new cables crushed them across the board in my system.

jayant

Prices our posted on his listing here on Autogone

@68pete 

Did you ever have HFC interconnects in your system? Would love to know how Apparition compares.

68pete

What is the price of Rick's new Apparition XLR interconnect?

Happy Listening!

I have been busy, but managed to get a little time with the addition of Ricks Apparition XLR cable. Adding the second cable in the chain with the first was unbelievable good. Just a very good large 3D sound stage. Smoother clearer and  very detailed. Note decay was very good. Seem to last much longer than before. The bass took longer to come around, but once it did, tighter punchier quicker and now deep much lower sounding. At this point i can find no negatives at all with the cables.

Just received the 2nd XLR cable, will need a few days to settle in then i will post

The new Apparition xlr interconnects between my disc player and Pre amp crushed my older Transparent Reference XL xlr mm2 interconnect. So much that i order another one to replace the Transparent Reference XL mm2 interconnect between Pre amp and Amp. The much lighter  carbon wave guides much easier to work with than the original metal ones. They do not pull the equipment off the shelf like the older metal ones did. When hanging off the back of a shelf.

The RCA connectors on the Apparition cables look wild.

Hi, I was one of those that lost out when HFC closed, but luckily only lost a smallish amount. I suspect Business closures can be brutal for all involved, and I was simply unlucky with purchase timing and laws that prioritise creditors first for debts owed :)

I have since bought a few products from Rick on this site with no problems and great communication and would be happy to buy more as rick is a very responsive seller with great after sales care, even months after the sale.

Whatever you think of the products and price (easy to not buy if you are a sceptic), I think you can trust a purchase on this site from the man himself which is what this is really about?

So +1 for trust

Also keen to hear any reviews on the Apparation cables!!

I worked 42 years for a company that went bankrupt, lost my pension, healthcare etc. Am I bitter?... It doesn't seem right that any assets went to the creditors. However, the union employees did get some payout, but the salaried workers got nothing.

When business failures occur, yes, the employees lose their jobs. Too bad the system doesn't help the workers, but it usually doesn't.

ozzy